In an effort to improve quality, productivity, aesthetics, reduce waste, and provide a compact, discrete product for cooking and serving, it has long been a common practice to bond selected cuts of meats into a single formed product, such as hams. This has been attempted by using various methods and devices, including the use of binders, tieing, pressure forming, and elastic netting. The process of netting generally involves placing selected cuts of meat into an elastic netting. The elastic nature of the netting provides a holding force that keeps the cut surfaces of the meat item in close proximity resulting in a compact, firm unit.
Improvements in the art of netted meat products permit the meat to be uniformly and tightly compacted in the netting. Examples of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,344,467 to Barbu and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,290,841 and 3,477,860 to Sartore, which generally comprise a flexible metal sheet formed to the shape of a truncated cone. The smaller end of the cone is surrounded by the netting and the meat portions are deposited into the larger opposing end. Force is then applied to the meat portions which direct same through the cone and into the netting. The truncated cone acts to compact the meat portions into an efficient shape which is retained by the netting. The netted meat product may then be removed from the smaller end of the cone.
The meat item is subsequently cooked or smoked and the netting removed prior to consumption. Removal of the netting generall disrupts the surface of the meat item, because the netting usually is embedded in the meat and often surrounded by meat exudate to the extent that the netting is covered by the exudate. Removal of the netting tears and disrupts the surface of the meat item resulting in yield losses and a very unsightly and unappealing appearance.
It has become known in the art that wrapping meat items in an edible collagen film, prior to the application of the elastic netting, provides a protective barrier that effectively prevents the elastic netting from imbedding into the meat surface. Any exudate issuing from the meat during cooking or processing is contained within the film and does not adhere to the netting and, as a result, the netting is easily removed prior to consumption without disturbing the surface of the meat item.
However, it has been somewhat difficult to wrap the plurality of slippery individual meat pieces with the film and then enclose them with the netting using conventional procedures used in the past that did not employ the film wrap. Attempting to wrap meat products in an edible collagen film and then forcing same through the meat netting apparatus, results in frictional drag between the contacting surfaces of the apparatus and the film. Such friction imposes stress on the film causing the film to be torn or weakened such that it fails upon subsequent physical contact or thermal shock. Further, the known apparatus has been cumbersome to use since there is very little room for spreading the edible collagen film and wrapping the meat products with it. In addition, it is common practice to store edible collagen film on a roll. When a piece of film is desired, an estimated amount of film is unrolled and then cut from the roll. Storing the film in a meat netting environment exposes the film to environmental contaminants, as well as potential physical damage.